


Water Over Scales

by The_Shy_One



Series: Fratt Week 2021 [1]
Category: Daredevil (Comics), Loki: Agent of Asgard, Punisher (Comics)
Genre: Blood, Cleaning, Female Loki (Marvel), Fratt Week (Marvel), Genderfluid Loki (Marvel), Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, M/M, Magic, Mermaid Matt Murdock, One Shot, Pining, Some Humor, Swearing, Transformation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:06:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29280423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Shy_One/pseuds/The_Shy_One
Summary: Frank is called by Matt for an undescribed emergency. What he finds is stranger than what he expects.(Fratt Week - Water)
Relationships: Frank Castle/Matt Murdock
Series: Fratt Week 2021 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2150283
Comments: 7
Kudos: 21
Collections: Fratt Week





	Water Over Scales

It wasn’t a scene that Frank was expecting to see when Red calls to tell him to come over. He had expected blood, a torn suit or a broken bone with the way Matt had insisted that he come help with the situation, saying he needed help. Instead, he gets into Red’s apartment, sees a trail of blood leading to the bathroom and follows, opening the door to flick on the light to see. What he sees is water all over the floor - making the spots of blood leading to the tub bleed and spread over the tiles - and a large mermaid tail trailing from the floor to the bathtub.

In the sink was a phone, possibly thrown from the tub either to keep from getting wet or in a fit of frustration. There were also soaked bandages on the floor, covered in water and blood and it makes Frank grimaces at the state of things. 

Frank then stares at Red for a few moments, wondering what he was exactly seeing. Attached to the mermaid tail was Matt, squished into the tub as he squirms to find a more comfortable position, body and fins attached to where his thighs used to be, not having enough room to fit properly with how big they were. Red’s hair is plastered to his forehead and his eyes unfocused as he continues to shift, grunting all while this is happening.

He also noticed that the LED light made the black and red scales on Matt’s tail shimmer, seeing the way the shifting water from the tub slid down his scales. It was a sight that he’d expect from a fantasy book, something unlikely happening and yet it was.

Matt suited being a mermaid, beautiful and deadly combined in a creature that was spoken about for dragging sailors to their deaths,

Snapping out of his thoughts, he clears his throat and Red pauses. “What happened, Red?” He asks, stepping into the bathroom. 

With a growl, Matt replied,” Loki is what happened to me.”

Loki. The Norse God. One that Frank kept as far away as possible from since she seemed to have a few screws loose when talking to anyone that she caught up in her schemes. Didn’t stop her from trying to team up with Frank though.

Frank gets closer, goes to clean up the bandages from the floor. He can see that Matt’s scales shift from black to red depending on how the light hits them. ”What’d she do?”

“She fought me when I tried to drag her away from one of the drug dealers. Said something about them being part of a quest to find a gem and needed to take them with her.” Matt said, trying to find a comfortable position once more. Water splashes onto his tail as this happens, sliding over scales and then onto the floor.

“And she casted a spell on you when you kept her from getting what she wanted,” Frank said. He puts the bandages into the trash, satisfied that there was one less thing to do.

“Didn’t know she cast one until I got into the shower and started to change into this,” Matt said, huffing as he gave up on the impossible task of fitting comfortably in the tub. “I say she’s sending the message that she’s pissed at me.”

“Why I don’t mess around with magic bullshit,” Frank said, sitting on the toilet. 

“She was interfering with an investigation, Frank,” Matt said harshly. “I wasn’t going to let her mess it up just because she needed them for something that was going to get them killed eventually.”

Frank rolls his eyes. Red ever the choirboy, still trying to keep the philosophy that everyone deserves a second chance and not a bullet to the brain. 

“This the investigation that ties the drugs back to Owlman’s operation?” He asked, reaching for the towels that hung on a bar. Thankfully they were dry, managing to stay out of the way of Red’s transformation and then struggle in the bathtub.

“Yeah,” Matt said, sullen and tipping his head back to press against the tiled wall. The tail twitches as if similar to a cat when becoming irritated. “Going to have to figure out how this is going to affect me as Daredevil in the long term since Owlman is going to continue in a different place now that he’s caught wind of me snooping around.”

Frank puts down the towels on the floor, watching as they soak up the water while asking, “Can’t call up Strange or one of the other magical people to fix you up? They’re better equipped for this than me.”

Matt sighs, deep and filled with frustration, waving a hand towards the sink. The tail twitches too, flicking more water on the floor. As Frank picks up the towels, putting them in the basket, Matt said,“ Read the text that  _ she  _ sent me.”

Frank gets the phone out of the sink, seeing the notification for a text when turning it on. He reads the preview, hearing it in the smug tone that the Goddess had. _ ‘Too bad you didn’t let me have him, hope you...’ _

“She put a spell on you and then taunted you when it was basically too late to do anything about it.” Frank had to admire the pettiness even if he really didn’t like her. He goes to grab more towels from the closet that was nearby, placing them on the floor to mop up the remaining water when he returns to the bathroom. “Why does that prevent you from calling someone else?”

“She basically put me under a spell that lasts for three days once I’ve come into contact with water,” Matt explains. His tail shifts, fins pressing against the side as he lowers the upper part of his body into the water. “No way for anyone to fix this, has to run its course.”

Frank chuckles, amused by the way Red is pouting. Matt sends him a glare, tail flicking from side to side, annoyed. “This amusing to you, Frank?”

“I’m amused that a Trickster Goddess got one over you Red.” Frank picks up the towels, putting them with the first two in the hamper. He would have to put them in the dryer to repeat the process again. “Just make sure to keep away from her the next few weeks because I know she’ll do it again.”

“Thor did say she was petty.”

“What do you think she did the acts of villain for years for the hell of it?”

“Thor also said she was trying to be a hero.”

“And what counts for being a hero as a Norse God?” Frank asks, sitting down on the toilet again. Matt tilted his head at this question, vacant eyes staring ahead. 

“A lot different than the various schisms of Christianity,” Matt says at least. Frank doesn’t get to say anything in response to that since Matt quickly ducks his head under the water.

He watches as red hair floats in water and vacant blue eyes stare at nothing. Matt stays under the water, could stay there for hours since Frank finally notices the gills at the base of the man’s neck. They open and close as he breathes underwater and suddenly Frank wishes he could caress them, feel them move beneath his fingertips. 

He gets up, moving around the space to start the process of cleaning up the bathroom and the drops of blood that were on Red’s floors. At some point, after Frank has dried most of the floor and is starting to work on the blood on the wood floor, Matt’s head breaches the surface of the water, lungs rasping as it changes from water to air. 

Frank doesn’t say anything, only continues to work. It was familiar work, something he had to do in training when becoming a Marine. He only stops when he looks up and sees Matt as his head on his arm, cushioning it from the hard surface of the rim of the tub. “What’cha hearing, Red?”

“Your heartbeat,” Matt said, smiling. He almost looked drunk, to be honest. “It’s steady and deep, you know that?”

“No. But thanks for letting me know.” 

“You’re staying to help, right?”

“Where else would I get my lectures on morality?”

That was enough to earn a dreamy look from the man and Frank had to look back down or else he would burst into a grin himself. What kind of mess has Red drawn him into after all these years of fighting and arguing and injuries and working together?

A good one by the way Red laughs as he slips back into the water and Frank wanting to hear it once more.

**Author's Note:**

> We need more Mermaid!Matt in our lives ad I'm always willing to provide. Also couldn't help sneaking in a mention of Loki bc this would be right up her alley, let's be honest.
> 
> Hopefully, it was a good one-shot to read! :D


End file.
